Raising older children of color means being sure they understand their history, so they know why certain rap songs are inappropriate. It’s giving them confidence to explore, swim, bike (but not too far) and play to win. No matter how hard it is to find a bedspread with Black ballerinas on it, it means you keep looking. You’ll particularly need to teach confidence. You’ll learn to heed some advice, ignore others, and either reach for your own mother or miss her fiercely. And if, like Millner’s stepson, your child is a boy who’s almost a man, raising him means making sure he knows the warnings…
Much like morning sickness, weight gain and pregnancy, advice arrives right along with the announcement of a new baby. Some of it’s crazy-talk, while some of it—like what’s inside “My Brown Baby”—is absolutely useful.
While the shelves are full to bursting with pregnancy and childrearing books, Millner tackles the subject from a different angle, one that’s perhaps more rare and that speaks directly to parents without a lot of fuss. Millner uses humor, but it’s clear when she’s being serious; she’s also common-sense and offers a nice mix of old-school, modern ideas, and new viewpoints on things your Mama never had to consider.
(“My Brown Baby” by Denene Millner, c.2017, Bolden, $16/$22.95 Canada, 272 pages.)
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